Dateline Rice for Nov. 5, 2014

FEATURED ITEMS

How lemur poop helps rainforests thrive
Amy Dunham, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and graduate student Onja Razafindratsima are studying the positive impact lemurs have on tree populations in Madagascar.
Futurity
http://bit.ly/13IvssQ
Gardeners of Madagascar rainforest at risk
Science Newsline (This article also appeared in e! Science News.)
http://bit.ly/1uwbLQT

Clean fossil fuels are no myth, but a requirement
Charles McConnell, executive director of Rice’s Energy and Environment Initiative, authored an op-ed about the attainability of clean fossil technology if environmentalists and government officials are serious about transforming their approach to energy sustainability.
The Hill
http://bit.ly/1uvVSsX

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Oil import decline to US revealed by Louisiana as truth
The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port is receiving half of its oil barrel shipment than it did six years ago. Kenneth Medlock III, the James A. Baker III and Susan Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics and lecturer of economics, comments on the sustainability of oil production.
Bloomberg (This article also appeared on Money News.)
http://bloom.bg/10uNvAF

Mark Jones, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, professor and chair of political science and fellow in political science at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted about Gen. Greg Abbott’s Texas governor win and George P. Bush’s emergence in Texas politics.
Greg Abbott’s win over Wendy Davis bodes ill for Democrats in Texas
LATimes.com (This article also appeared in Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel and DailyNews724.com.)
http://lat.ms/10UU5RZ
Wendy Davis lost. But she was always going to lose.
Vox
http://bit.ly/1s4q8nT
Rice Univ. professor Mark Jones analyzes Election Day 2014
My Fox Houston
http://bit.ly/1E5A3QN
2014 Texas elections
KUT.org
http://bit.ly/1wxkq4r
Greg Abbott tops Wendy Davis in Texas governor’s race
Dallas Morning News
http://bit.ly/1tbXkdn
Abbott held all the cards in gov race
San Antonio Express-News
http://bit.ly/1sgscdH
Abbott rides Republican wave to victory
San Antonio Express News
http://bit.ly/1x3P4no
Analysis: Texas voters keep political offices red
San Angelo Standard-Times (This article also appeared in Abilene Reporter-News and Corpus Christi Caller-Times.)
http://bit.ly/1x3PgDg
Greg Abbott easily defeats Wendy Davis in race for governor
Austin American-Statesman (This article also appeared in Progressive Voices.)
http://bit.ly/1oiwvsn
Local lawmakers retain seats, few changes in Legislature
Austin American-Statesman
http://bit.ly/1tzYmDz
En resultados preliminares, Republicanos mantienen control estatal
Austin American-Statesman (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/1qpqXbr
This is the one Democrat Texas’ voter ID law could really screw over
Mother Jones (This article also appeared in FreeNewsPos.com.)
http://bit.ly/1AifnbE
Wendy Davis
Daily Press
http://bit.ly/10mCd19
2014 election early voting, exit polls point to trouble for Democrats
CafeMom.com
http://bit.ly/1tI2X8k
George P. Bush seen likely to win his first election
Newsmax (This article also appeared in Darien News and San Antonio Express-News.)
http://nws.mx/1zw9kPy
Rebranding the bushes
Buenos Aires Herald
http://bit.ly/1tzX7Et
Un Bush con sangre latina busca forjar su nombre en la política de EEUU
Infobae.com (This article also appeared in Expresdiario.com and Diariopinion.com.)
http://bit.ly/1uvTrXq
Cử tri bang Texas nản lòng vì luật lệ về căn cước
VOAtiengviet.com (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/1tzWdrv

Boehner wins a bigger house majority — and bigger expectations
Paul Brace, the Clarence L. Carter Professor of Political Science, explains the potential outcome now that Republicans control the Senate and congress.
National Journal
http://bit.ly/1tcLj7E

Are Earth’s tectonic plates BENDY? Scientists say they’re more flexible than first thought — and this could explain why some earthquakes occur
Richard Gordon, the W. M. Keck Professor in Geophysics and chair of the Department of Earth Science, and his colleague, Corné Kreemer, an associate professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, have determined that cooling of the lithosphere — the outermost layer of Earth — makes some sections of the Pacific plate contract horizontally at faster rates than others and causes the plate to deform.
Daily Mail (This article also appeared in Scinexx, Machines Like Us, Science Codex and Science Newsline.)
http://dailym.ai/1s4Mh5E
Plate tectonics 2.0: Terra Firma is not so firm and tectonic plates are not rigid
Science 2.0 (This article also appeared in e! Science News.)
http://bit.ly/1uw7Xys

Obama, post-midterm loss, must re-energize presidency
Douglas Brinkley, professor of history and fellow in history at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, warns about the difficulties the White House and Congress will face in President Barack Obama’s last two years of presidency.
Breitbart (This article also appeared in Yahoo! News, Dawn.com, Asian One, Manila Times, AlterNet, P.M. News Nigeria, MySinChew.com and Global Post.)
http://bit.ly/1x8LRBm
Obama presidency faces uphill battle
Business Spectator (This article also appeared in Herald Sun Melbourne, Boursorama, Svenska Dagbladet, KopalniaWiedzy, Puterea, LaLibre.be and 15 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/1x8n2FG
Midterm loss: Obama saddled with an image problem; must find a new can-do spirit
The Economic Times
http://bit.ly/13IyCwP

Computer programming may become much easier
Computer scientists at Rice are leading an $11 million-project called PLINY to develop software that makes it easier to write code. Vivek Sarkar, the E.D. Butcher Chair in Engineering, chair of the Department of Computer Science and the principal investigator on the PLINY project, is quoted.
Voice of America
http://bit.ly/1wxDhfq
Next for DARPA: ‘Autocomplete’ for programmers
Phys.org
http://bit.ly/1tIA2RA

Consular Corps luncheon with Ambassador Edward Djerejian
Edward Djerejian, founding director of Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and former U.S. ambassador to Syria and Israel, gave an informal talk on the current unfolding events in the Middle East at a Consular Corps luncheon.
Norway.org
http://bit.ly/1pmcimj

Even with ISIL at the door, Baghdad mansions are going for US $1M
An article about Iraq’s Shiite Muslim elite selling million dollar homes in the Zayouna neighborhood quotes Andrew Bowen, the Baker Institute scholar for the Middle East and director of Rice’s Baker Institute’s Levant Program. Bowen also discusses academic expenses for athletic success.
The National (This article also appeared in Iraq Daily Journal.)
http://bit.ly/1sh0IVg
Does athletic success come at the expense of academic success
Houston Public Media’s “Houston Matters”
http://bit.ly/1tIJEff

Schools seek common application alternatives after deadline debacle
Rice is mentioned as a user of the Universal College Application.
U.S. News University Directory
http://bit.ly/1tczBKe

HOUSTON/TEXAS

You may have read one of this Houston man’s letters
Retired Shell Oil worker and frequent Houston Chronicle opinion page contributor Vince Maggio is featured. The article mentions that Maggio did advanced studies in chemical engineering at Rice.
Houston Chronicle (This article is featured on the front of the Star section. Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1tIi2a6

Culture scene: Nov. 6-12
The Kavafian-Schub-Shifrin Trio will perform at Rice’s Alice Pratt Brown Hall.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1tIGPuz

Family friendly: Children’s festival in The Woodlands
Rice will host the Literature Festival in the Memorial Center Grand Hall Nov. 8.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1wxI94p

Twin Creeks Middle School students win a top prize at Sally Ride Science Festival
Rice hosted a Sally Ride Science Festival on campus Oct. 25.
The Paper
http://bit.ly/1s4WMWz

Schaefer keynote speaker at SPM 2014
Alumnus Scott Schaefer ’03 will be the keynote speaker at the Symposium on Solid and Physical Modeling at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Engineering.tamu.edu
http://bit.ly/1tA8Seg

BROADCAST

SpaceShipTwo crash one giant step back for Virgin Galactic
David Alexander, professor of physics and astronomy and director of the Rice Space Institute, is quoted about the crash of Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft and its effect on commercial space travel.
KNPRNews.org (Nevada Public Radio)
http://bit.ly/1plMJ4Y

Texas has a new governor
Bob Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science, is quoted about Texas’ new governor Greg Abbott’s potential challenges and his polling expectations.
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/1zwrn8a
Can a loss be a win in Texas governor’s race?
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/1GpXp7H

Experts on upcoming APEC meeting
Russell Green, the Will Clayton Fellow in International Economics at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and an adjunct assistant professor of economics, discusses the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.
CNC News
http://bit.ly/1pmdy9b

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Why can’t we vote on our smartphones?
Traditional voting may be replaced with more technologically advance voting methods. Michael Byrne, professor of psychology, explains that the appropriate technology for online voting does not exist commercially, but that voting on a smartphone might be the best option.
Gizmodo India
http://bit.ly/10nvaoM

Atoms can do disappearing act in ultra-cold conditions, scientists find out
Randy Hulet, the Fayez Sarofim Professor of Physics and Astronomy, postdoctoral researcher Jason Nguyen and graduate student De Luo published a new study in the journal Nature Physics about the result of colliding pairs of Bose Einstein condensates prepared in solitons.
Tech Times
http://bit.ly/1sgCSZP
Atoms can pass through other particles in ultra-cold condition
Uncover California
http://bit.ly/1tIs0s3

Rice chemists use 2D MoS2 for energy storage and catalysis
Rice scientists turned molybdenum disulfide into a nanoporous film that can catalyze the production of hydrogen or be used for energy storage. James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering, is quoted. Postdoctoral researcher Yang Yang and graduate student Huilong Fei helped create the film.
Compound Semiconductor (This article also appeared in Punch, Science Daily, Energy Daily, One News Page, Democratic Underground, Nanotechnology Now and Space Daily.)
http://bit.ly/1vIx24r
Gaining an edge in next-gen energy production and storage
Controlled Environments
http://bit.ly/1yYDesy

A new US voting machine could make sure every vote really counts
The security of online voting, which is already in use by some states, is still unreliable and may not be ready for mass use. Dan Wallach, professor of computer science and of electrical and computer engineering, is quoted.
Australian Popular Science
http://bit.ly/1AjFfnE
Internet voting ‘not ready for prime time’
KREM.com (This article also appeared in WZZM-TV, Northwest Cable News and KING-TV.)
http://bit.ly/13EPPXY
KNOW-FM (Minneapolis)
http://bit.ly/1x4l0bl
WAMU-FM (Washington, D.C.)
http://bit.ly/1sh0iy2
WDET-FM (Detroit)
http://bit.ly/1sh0hdB

Energy shock: What happened to overpriced oil?
Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is interviewed about Saudi Arabia’s recent silence about reducing oil production.
Global Research
http://bit.ly/1xeAIgD

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

The uncertain fate of college radio
California Polytechnic State University is debating the future of its radio station. The switch to public radio for the frequency formerly used by KTRU is mentioned.
Pop Matters
http://bit.ly/1plB6ef

Space travel runs into some trouble — Per Aspera Ad Astra
An article mentions President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 speech at Rice Stadium.
Airline Reporter
http://bit.ly/1xegVhi

SPORTS

Protecting our players
Physicians, trainers, coaches and players are combating sports-related head injuries to reduce concussions and protect players from injuries. Rice offensive lineman Andrew Reue and the help he received from a teammate and athletic trainers are cited as an example of success.
TMCNews.org
http://bit.ly/1EiIg64

UTSA Roadrunners versus Rice Owls 2014 preview
Rice football will play against University of Texas at San Antonio Nov. 8 at Rice Stadium.
Underdog Dynasty
http://bit.ly/1xeo8Ol
Rice Owls versus UTSA Roadrunners — Nov. 8 college football pick, odds and prediction
Sports Chat Place
http://bit.ly/1okJ9XS
Texas-San Antonio (2-6) at Rice (5-3) (ET)
The State
http://bit.ly/1GpOIKz

WKU soccer kicks off Conference USA tournament versus Rice
Rice women’s soccer will play against Western Kentucky University Nov. 5 in Charlotte, N.C.
Fansided
http://bit.ly/1Ajg1Wh

Men’s basketball hosts Saturday exhibition
Rice men’s basketball will host at exhibition against LeTourneau University Nov. 8 at Tudor Fieldhouse. Head basketball coach Mike Rhoades is mentioned.
Conference USA
http://bit.ly/1x8BZYh

NEWS RELEASES

Mexico Center issue brief details challenges to Mexico’s next energy boon
A new policy brief from Rice University’s Baker Institute Mexico Center details the challenges that the Mexican government will face as it begins to tap Mexico’s offshore and onshore energy projects for the first time since 1938.
http://bit.ly/10vJ5d5

Next for DARPA: ‘Autocomplete’ for programmers
Writing computer programs could become as easy as searching the Internet. A Rice University-led team of software experts has launched an $11 million effort to create a sophisticated tool called PLINY that will both “autocomplete” and “autocorrect” code for programmers, much like the software that completes search queries and corrects spelling on today’s Web browsers and smartphones.
http://bit.ly/10vIYxW